actor

Just like the characters they portray and the real-life professionals they honor, we decided to go big (instead of go home) with this one and rank the most awesome nurses portrayed on TV over the years, starting with #12 and ending with our choice for the most amazing TV nurse of all.

Character: Samantha Taggart

Played by:Linda Cardellini

TV show:ER (appeared 2003-2009)

Ranking: 12

Why she’s here on our list: Sam is a tough, independent single mom trying to raise her son on her own, while trying to make it in the ER. Her character ultimately swims – not sinks – throughout a series of crises both within and beyond the walls of Chicago’s fictional County General Hospital.